Voltaire — To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Certain genetic risk factors are uniquely found in individuals of European origin

Scientists have found evidence of recent natural selection in Europeans:

By comparing human data with genetic data from chimpanzees, the team were able to conclude that the genetic variant was the result of a selection event favouring variants that increase the risk of heart disease, coeliac disease and type 1 diabetes in European populations 3,400 years ago. The authors suggest that the risk factors were positively selected for because they gave carriers an increased protection against infection.